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While disputes remain between China and several countries around the South China Sea, they have already concluded the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in accordance with the UNCLOS.

Thanks to the DOC, the situation in the South China Sea remains peaceful, and no party has ever used "coercion" and posed any threat to regional peace or navigation security in the South China Sea.

Ignoring the advise of the Chinese delegation, Clinton, with a prepared script at hand, tried to make an issue of the South China Sea at the meeting, claiming she was objecting to the "use or threat of force" in this ocean area.

The question is: as the situation in the South China Sea is peaceful, what is the logic in Clinton's "objection? "

So her real intention is questionable.

History has repeatedly proven that the involvement of a superpower in disputed areas did, more often than not, complicate the situation and bring tragedy to parties concerned.

Superpowers often adopted the strategy of "divide and rule." They stired up tensions, disputes and even conflicts, then set foot in to pose as a "mediator" or a "judge" in a bid to maximize their own interests.

In the 19th century, the British empire adopted the tactics of "divide and rule" to fight powers in the European continent.

Nowadays, the United States is resorting to the same old trick when dealing with some disputes and conflicts in the international arena.

By claiming US national interests in the South China Sea, Washington intends to expand its involvement in an ocean area tens of thousands of miles away from America.

Obviously, Washington's strategy is to play the old trick again in the South China Sea, in its bid to maintain America's "long-held sway" in the western Pacific Ocean.

For decades, the United States has regarded itself as a dominant power in the Pacific Ocean, and the Pentagon deems any change of the status quo as a severe challenge to it.

As South Korea's Yonhap news agency put it, Washington is worried that China's presence in the South China Sea could "undermine America's long-held sway in Asia."

As a matter of fact, it is US officials, scholars and media who are exaggerating the "tensions" in the South China Sea, while most countries in the region are convinced that the situation there is peaceful.

As Beijing-based The Global Times points out, Washington is trying to incite the hostility of countries around the South China Sea toward China in a bid to seek its own interests.

Unfortunately, some countries around the South China Sea are embracing the US strategy, thus voluntarily playing into the hands of Washington.

These countries may cherish illusions about the internationalization of the South China Sea issue and hope for outside involvement that would cater to their own interests.

But the fact is that things will most likely run counter to their wishes, and they will finally turn into a chess piece of a superpower.

Take Hillary Clinton's trip to Hanoi for example. While playing up the South China Sea issue, she immediately rapped a few ASEAN countries over the issues of "human rights" and "press freedoms."

In short, Washington always puts its own interests above those of ASEAN countries and becomes lukewarm whenever it comes to the question of offering help to these countries.

For countries around the South China Sea, direct bilateral negotiations are the best way to resolve their disputes, and seeking outside involvement is doomed to failure.

The above-mentioned DOC stipulates that "the parties concerned undertake to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned."

The DOC thus enhances mutual trust among the countries concerned and creates favorable conditions and a good atmosphere for efforts to seek a final solution to the disputes.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said that attempts to internationalize the issue would "only make matters worse and resolution more difficult," and that "international practices show that the best way to resolve such disputes is for countries concerned to have direct bilateral negotiations."

To sum up, outside involvement will only complicate the South China Sea issue and hinder a smooth resolution of the thorny issue.

Therefore, Asian countries should display wisdom in resolving the issue through direct friendly consultations, and should be on guard against being used as a chess piece paving the way for outside involvement.
Comments

observer kuala lumpu 2010-07-27 23:54
Such actions by the US will only prompt China to explore the rapid development of their own version of aircraft carriers to balance US's superiority in this regards.

That seems better off than investing trillions in the US treasury bonds.

hugh 2010-07-27 23:46
South China Sea is always a part of China as the same as Taiwan and other provinces. We should have no afraid to stand up against US selfish view.

chris 2010-07-27 23:27
China must consolidate her interests in these island chains, need to established military presence and start populating these places

brits know-how. 2010-07-27 23:13
a) "to make their hatred look like friendship , and conquestr as a favour." John Keay .History of India .to make that fake look better than a real thing . b) begin with other's concern to end with Own . c) be tzelem eloquim/ in image of god / means-- once brits 'get a free will' ,they would become all so Satan . d) to make you want what they have ; for having you not have what they want . with Bait of False to catch a Real Fish .e) privitize profits & socialize losses .f)to control dissent brits lead dissent.g) breeding cows that "burp less."h) to speak on behalf of those palestinized and silenced . -proceeding with " brutish hidden nature pitbull's smile" ..z) evil minded intellectual inferiority counterbalance with inferior morality .*make war for peace ".
--- beware of a brit ! !

Asean's invitation of the US to play a bigger role in the region is like inviting a wolf into a sheep pen. The US is notorious for warmongering. In fact it thrives on wars. It depends on wars to survive, to keep its weapons industry going, its huge military forces and weapons useful. Starting wars and propagating wars is the US way to sustain its economy and keep itself relevant.

Wherever the Americans are, there will be wars. The latest casualty is Pakistan. It had many years of peace without the US. The moment Musharraff went dining with George Bush, the country was plunged into warfare. And it is still at war. The other notables are Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran and Korea will be next. And to keep an incessant series of wars in the pipeline, it is sowing seeds in the Asean region, encouraging the Asean states to stand up to China with their backings. The Filipinos used to do that by arresting or harrassing Chinese fishing boats. Of course they knew that they had the Americans behind them to pull the whiskers of a sleeping dragon.

Would Asean be thrown into a state of turmoil and warfare? Will Southeast Asia be no longer a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality? We will have to see how silly the Asean leaders are and the consequences of playing with fire._________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

Against one gunman holding hostages in a tourist bus, the Filipino commandos launched an assault against the gunman who was a disguntled ex police officer. They killed him and at the same time killed 6 Hongkong tourists and wounded several others.

They think they are Rambos or Israeli commandos? Or there are more to it than just a simple trigger happy troops thinking they are Hollywood heroes?

Hongkong should put a ban on their tourists visiting Philippines for a year and demand compensation and an apology from the Filipino govt. The assault was not only uncalled for but badly executed.

Some wonder why the hooha over the bungled commando assault by the Philippines police. Many who have watched the drama live on TV would have the same impression as well, without any prompting, that it was an amateurist work of art. And the truth is revealing itself to confirm that it was a bungle, nothing less. Even the Philippines Govt admitted it outright and calling for a thorough impression.

What is appalling about the whole episode is the total disregard of the lives of the tourists. That was the impression that I got. The police were running around the bus in full view of the kidnapper and that itself is the most provocative act. You could see that killing the kidnapper was their only concern.

Now with the truth disclosed that the kidnapper was no terrorist, no hard core criminal or robber or extremist, it is much harder to swallow that the incident ended in so many death, including the death of the kidnapper. He was an unhappy man. No, he was a model cop that was unjustly dismissed or framed up. At least that was his version of the story.

Would such a man who was demanding for an investigation and probably a reinstatement of his job become a killer? His demands were proof that he wanted his job back, with no intention to kill. And who would want to kill him and let to the killing of the innocent tourists?

Why couldn't they appease him with an investigation to his dismissal and settle his grievance later, saving the lives of the tourists? The priority, it seemed, was to apprehend or kill the kidnapper. The lives of the tourists did not matter all. The tourists were just calafares in a police and robber movie.

Donald Tsang tried the whole day to get in touch with Aquino but in vain. They did not want Aquino to speak to Donald Tsang. And when Aquino appeared on TV the same day and the day after, he was all smiling with no hints of sadness that so many innocent lives were lost for nothing. And now they are still going to investigate the dead cop's dismissal, which was what the dead cop wanted.

And there were many pictures of the cops involved in the botched operation taking photos with the bullet ridden bus as the backdrop. It was all like fun, a picnic. These pictures are now circulating in the internet. I have seen several of them. All the police men and women were smiling like they had just completed a movie shooting and celebrating for a job well done. That itself would tell what was important and what was not to them.

It is appalling and disgusting, really._________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

With more facts and evidence in the open, Aquino should seriously consider awarding the Police Chief and his SWAT team a medal... for Stupidity. The Police Chief should get a higher award, Medal for Stupidity of the Highest Order.

In the public inquest he was asked why he didn't accede to the simple request from the ex police officer. His reply was a rigid text book version 1.01, that if he gave way, more officers will repeat the act of holding hostages to make demands. How ridiculous could this be. Even a machine could be more flexible and think better.

And for the police officers running around the hijacked bus wielding their sledge hammers that could do no damage to the bus windows, did they know that the hijacker could spray his M16 at the hostages and finished them off in 5 secs? And they were happily hammering away as if they got the whole day to do so.

The fact that the hijacker was willing to talk, to release hostages said a lot about his lack of intent to kill the hostages. And the fact that after all the messing around, many hostages were still unhurt and alive is proof that he was not really interested in killing them.

Medals of Stupidity shall be part and parcel of the awards of any country and be conferred to the well deserved recipients when necessary._________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

Events that lead to the death of eight tourist inside the bus
Postscript Of A Bloodbath
by Bang Lu Min
(One of the Hostages)

Mr. Mendoza was already upset even before he saw on television what the policemen did to his brother. The other tourists who remained inside the bus were complaining. Wei Ji Jiang wanted to go to the bathroom. Dao Chi Yu was hungry and the rest were just groaning and whining like they have forgotten that our lives rest in Mr. Mendoza's hands.

The hostage taker, as you know him was really nice. He treated us okay and even let the elders and the children leave the bus. He said your policemen treated him unfairly. He was a policeman too and was accused of doing something he had no knowledge of. But your government didn't listen so he used us to get everyone's attention.

Things would have never turned for the worst if he didn't see how his family was dragged out of their house and taken into custody. He was watching the news all the time as we huddled around each other behind the bus. He shouted some words in your language then started shooting in the air. A girl about my age started screaming. Mr. Mendoza demanded her to stop but she didn't understand English. God, he had to slash her neck with a knife just to put her to rest. Her boyfriend who tried to hit him was shot in the head.

Tension was rising. You can see in his face how scared and confused he was. The bus driver ran away leaving him alone with strangers from a distant land. I can see him walking across the aisle, sometimes pointing his machine gun to one of the tourists. But he tried his best not to hurt us, especially those who really cooperated.

I guess its in your nature not to inflict pain on others unless it was necessary. I remember him saying that he will free us before sundown and implored us to forget everything when we return home. But his words don't matter now. The policemen were trying to force their way in, while we all lied down to shield ourselves from bullets. Mister Mendoza blindly shoots at his enemies which I think kept them from rescuing us. I hear sobs under the chairs. Some were even shouting the names of their loved ones even when the air merely eat their words. Kevin Tang tried to escape when the glass door was was shattered, but one shot and he slumped on the floor with blood gushing from his mouth.

Heavy rain pitter-pattered on the rooftop. In old Chinese saying, it means an end to a struggle. Finally, somebody was able to open the escape hatch at the back of the bus. Freedom. But I knew Mister Mendoza was still alive. I knew he was just waiting for a chance to strike back at his enemies. So I told those around me not to escape. Let the authorities come for us instead. Then there was gunfire. He was firing at his enemies with a machine gun. Those who were at the escape hatch fled abandoning us once again. It's like a nightmare with no end and to wake up means a certain death. Then somebody from outside the bus threw a canister. It forced out a black smoke that is so painful to the eyes and putrid smelling to the nose. People started screaming. We cannot breathe. Some ran in front of the bus but Mister Mendoza warned them of stray bullets. It was too late. One was hit on the head, the other was hit on the shoulders. Bullets were now flying. Its like the authorities thought we were all dead. Mister Mendoza finally realizes his mistake and said sorry to everyone, dead or alive. He then ran towards the front of the bus where he would meet his maker. As he passed by my chair with bullets whistling overhead, I clutched my hand on the velvet curtain and wrapped it around my face. All I could think of was to stay alive - for my child who is waiting for me back in Xinjang. I know I will survive,

A need for an Asean consensus on military spending
Eng Hen is boasting about Singapore eyeing the most advanced multi role F 35 fighters the Americans are developing, and new submarines too. All these are good as long as our pocket is deep and the people need not be shortchanged for other public services from the Govt. In a way these are very expensive toys that are very nice to have. I would even suggest we should have satellite defense system, killer satellites with leading edge technology and even ICBMs with multiple nuclear warheads. And of course the supersize aircraft carrier that can sail the seven seas. By the way, when an ICBM takes off it won’t land anywhere within a few thousand km radius unless it flies vertically, burns itself out and falls back under gravity.
While I am getting carried away with wild wet dreams, someone please jolt me back to reality. What are these expensive weapons for? Who are they intended to pitch against? Do we need a battalion of tanks to fight a mob? Do we need a fleet of warships to fight against sampans? The question is, who are our possible enemies and what are their capabilities? How far more do we want to have to be one step ahead of our ‘enemies’ to feel secure?
Then the obvious thing, if we up the bets, our ‘enemies’ also can up the bets. So I up you, up me, all for the sake of upping the stakes but with no ends to it. And who is gonna benefit from these extravagant expenses? The arms merchants of course.
The world has changed, and the possibility of wars between states in Asean region has diminished, at least under the present conditions. Oops, what’s happening in Sabah? While it is necessary to prepare for war in peace, it is even more necessary to build confidence between states, to build good relations and make peace more enduring with less deadly weapons pointing at one another.
There is now an Asean organization and relations between the Asean states are relatively very good. Would it then be possible and better for the Asean states to start discussing about arms reduction in the region, not only to keep big power influence minimal, but stop an arms race among the Asean countries? Time and effort spend towards this goal would be more productive, and save a lot of money and resources by keeping the military profile and budget of Asean countries as low as agreeable given the respective needs and considerations of countries, big and small.
If Singapore is not going to buy those monster killer weapons, there is less likely for the neighbours to want to buy even better or comparable machine. Save the money for better use. Think of consolidating the present status quo. There is no need to keep ramping up GDP growth, population growth, better military hardware growth etc etc. If the Asean countries can reach a consensus to accept a certain level of military hardware and build up, would it not be better for all instead of blindly buying and buying and expanding and expanding, to be what, a big time gangster? Who are we trying to frighten when a better way is to agree to lower the temperature? I am not saying no defence but at a level to keep everyone happy and comfortable without any need for excesses._________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

The lame Taiwanese Govt
This Govt is used to sabre rattle with China thinking that it could fight or defend against a Chinese attack. The reality is that China could walk over and taken Taiwan in a day. China is allowing Taiwan to act tough and behave like the old KMT but knowing very well that the return of Taiwan to the mainland is only a matter of time and there is no need for bloodshed and fighting between the two Chinese people.
While Taiwan always want to appear tough and strong against China, its actions and behavior against the Japanese in Diaoyu Islands and against the Philippines is down right lame. It has been constantly and repeatedly humiliated by the two countries. The Philippines see the Taiwanese fishermen as easy prey for robbery, ransom and killing and the Taiwanese Govt has been living with this shame, like a little country, for so many years. There are still Taiwanese fishing boats in the Philippines waiting for the payment of ransom for their release.
Now this latest brutal killing, and the Taiwanese Govt only reacted after the media and the Taiwanese fiercely attacked the inaction of the Govt. If they did not protest, the Taiwanese Govt could continue to ignore the plight of the fishermen and allow the Philippines to continue to bully, rob and kill them at will.
So, after public pressure, what did this lame Govt do? It made four ‘solemn requests’ for apology, compensation, trial of the killers, and negotiation for fishing agreement. What about all the past cases of piracy and killings and the fishing boats still in the Philippines? And one thing, after so many years under Japanese rule, they did not learn a single thing from the Japanese except submissiveness.
If the Philippines were to attack and kill Japanese fishermen, the Japanese would not be making requests, polite or solemn. At times like this, what is this shit called ‘request’? The Taiwanese Govt is treating this as a friendly baseball game ya? The Japanese will make demands for justice, compensation and the repatriation of the killers to Japan for trial. That is a strong nation and knowing how to deal with pesky little countries like the Philippines and Taiwan. And it even did that to China for centuries and still doing the same. This is another issue that will hit back squarely on their faces in times to come.
The Taiwanese should show some pride and backbone and demand that the killers be brought to justice, trial in Taiwan or else…. Stop behaving like a weak and lame nation. By doing so, Taiwanese fishermen will continue to be harassed, robbed and killed by the Filipino pirates in the uniform of coast guards. If they find it difficult to learn from the Japanese, at least learn from how the Chinese dealt with the Pinoys in Scarborough Shoal.
Stand up Taiwan and show you got balls between your legs. If they can’t even handle the Pinoys, how to take on China? The truth is ugly and painful._________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

Pinoys stunned by the strong reaction of the emotional Taiwanese
The Pinoys in Manila, the politicians and academics, are all stunned by the strong reaction of the Taiwanese Govt on the killing of a fisherman by the Filipino coast guard. They said the Taiwanese are emotional. The Govt of this ‘non nation’ is over reacting and trying to bully the Philippines.
How ridiculous can it be? Killing and robbing Taiwanese fishermen did not happen yesterday and there was no Taiwanese Govt standing up to say anything in the past. Why is the Ma Ying Jiu Govt behaving so outrageously? The only reason the Pinoys could think of is that this is a weak Govt and trying to bolster its popularity by making a show of force to protect its fisherman.
The disdain for Taiwan, a non nation, comes out quite clearly. And the Pinoys must be more shock to think that a non nation could threaten a nation like the Philippines. And they are hoping for the Taiwanese to cool down, to be less emotional before they talk to them. The Pinoys have been trying to tell the Taiwanese not to over react. Cool down, what is so big deal about killing a Taiwanese fisherman when they have been doing this for so many years.
And Taiwan better cool down, be polite and not make unnecessary demands for compensation and apologies. Ninoy has just approved several billion pesos or US$ to upgrade the Filipino Navy to take on China. What is Taiwan? If the Taiwanese still stupidly conduct war games near Pinoy seas, the Pinoys may send in a mightier flotilla to show who is bigger._________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

The USA, the most irresponsible Empire of modern history, speaks at the Shangrila Dialogue in Singapore yesterday. And true to its acquired demeanour as the Empire for the last seven decades, it opening speech was to warn an aspiring new power that it is still the Empire and calling the shot. Its Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, lashed out at China for cyber spying. What is new?

The Empire has been spying for the last decades by all means, from flying high altitude spy planes blatantly, in broad day light, across every country it wants to snoop at, knowing no one had the technology to bring them down, or facing the consequences if they did so, to an extensive network of spy agencies, and cyberspace spying is just another cup of tea. What the Empire said is that only the Empire has to right to do so, to spy on other countries, overt and covert, espionage, and the whole menu of collecting intelligence, including assassination or termination with extreme prejudice, and anyone else doing it is not acceptable, irresponsible behaviour.

It is the same story as acquisition of nuclear weapons and WMD. Only the Empire can do so and other aspirants are dangerous and irresponsible and will face an invasion by the Empire troops, for regime change. And only the Empire can foment, support, feed and train insurgents and terrorists to overthrow existing govts. No other country can do that or be branded as evil, or the Axis of Evil.

It is also the Empire’s right to police the seas and space, to bring their military forces to any country’s back yard or front yard, to conduct war games simulating an invasion, and no other country can do so. Only the Empire is the responsible power and other countries and powers are behaving irresponsibly without starting or fighting a war. The right to start a war, to fight wars, to invade another country for whatever pretext, is the privilege of the Empire. When the Empire did do, for the right or wrong reason, for real or fabricated reason, it is normal. It is the Empire!

In the Shangrila Dialogue, the Empire will be setting the tone, warning other smaller powers to behave when the only power that is not behaving is the Empire. The Empire will call the shot and set the agenda for the Dialogue, and to stamp its approval if it agrees with the final statement of the Dialogue. The Empire is always the responsible one, and the rest are either irresponsible or evil.

Who is the real Evil One? Whose vocabulary consists of nothing but threats, sanctions, military intervention, military power, use of military power, war games, regime change, etc etc?_________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

Philippines the most powerful American colony
It was only a couple of decades back that the Pinoys exerted their independence and national pride by kicking out their colonial master, the Americans, from Subic and Clark Air Base. Today the Pinoys are reasserting any kind of independence and national pride by willingly offering their military bases to the Americans again and also to invite their WW2 invader, the Japanese, to base in the Philippines. Both the trigger happy cowboys and the blood letting samurais are welcomed with open arms by the equally trigger happy Pinoys.
And the Pinoys can now claim to be the most powerful American colony in the world and are ready to go to war with China. They are now the point man of the Empire, with unlimited supply of military weapons. And the Japanese have also vowed to fight beside them.
Japan is now on a military expansionary path towards Asia and SE Asia. It is pushing ahead with its remilitarization and with the connivance and blessing of the Americans. They are burning their pacifist constitution and shedding the mask of being a decent and non aggressive military power. Japan has rearmed and will resume its military past that it has never given up.
The East and South China Seas are about to go up in flames. And the Chinese are prepared for it. China has announced its interests in the South China Sea islands as non negotiable and will go to war if necessary, even against the combined forces of the Empire, Japan and the most powerful American colony.
The American pivot and intrusion into Southeast Asia is going to bear fruit. How many SE Asian countries will be drawn into this coming war? Wherever the Americans make their presence, be sure war will follow._________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

The Philippines slams China
This piece of news is in hot in the media.
‘BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei: The Philippines accused China on Sunday of a "massive" military buildup in the disputed South China Sea, warning at a regional security forum that the Asian giant's tactics were a threat to peace.
The statement by Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario ensured that the growing row over rival claims to the strategically vital and potentially resource-rich sea would again be a key focus of the annual four-day Asia-Pacific talks.... ‘Source. CNA Online.
I think the news should be rewritten as ‘The US accused China of a “massive” military buildup in the disputed South China Sea,... What is real behind this gungho screaming by the Philippines is quite obvious. And read further the message is quite clear. What does the Philippines meant in its warning that ‘China’s tactics were a threat to peace?’ Who is going to disrupt peace or start a war? Yes who, China or someone else?
Could it be the Philippines trying another killing of Taiwanese fisherman act? Would the Philippines dare to re enact that scene with Chinese military boats or ships as the target? What is likely going to happen?
Can anyone imagine the Philippines in their rickety warship firing at the Chinese surveillance ships?
China is not going to let this American lackey to push her around and has sent the first warning as reported by REUTERS. ‘China's state media warned on Saturday that a "counterstrike" against the Philippines was inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China Sea, potentially Asia's biggest military troublespot.’
China needs to send a very firm no nonsense message to the Philippines and the Americans. It is prepare to strike if the nonsense is not stopped. Any weakness or backtracking by China would only embolden the Pinoys and the Americans. China has no other option but to dig in and take the provocations by the horns.
Is the Philippines trying to punch above its weight, propped up by the Americans and the Japanese?_________________what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

The Pinoys protesting at Chinese Embassies
The most powerful Asean country is taking on China head on. They are organizing protests in several countries to challenge China’s claim to the islands in the South China Seas. China has no choice but to close its embassies abroad and in the Philippines.
China should instruct Hongkong to close its embassies for safety reasons, for 3 months. And if China could persuade Taiwan to do so, then there will be no more visa applications for the Pinoys to Hongkong and Taiwan. Then there will be peace between China and the Philippines.

China trembling in fear
The Philippines have announced more effort to counter China militarily in the South China Sea. Other than announcing that it will increase its military budget, it is now seeking funds from other countries, it has acquires more military hardware, the latest are two big navy ships from the Americans. It has also announced that it will be moving it armed forces to the Subic Naval Base to be nearer to the islands in dispute so that it can react to the Chinese presence. The fighter aircrafts and warships would be able to engage the Chinese in quicker time than in their old locations.
Philippines also has the backing of the US and Japan and should present a very formidable challenge to the Chinese forces in the area. The Chinese must be shivering in their pants. The strongest military power of Asean is flexing its muscles and telling China not to trifle with it or would face a military challenge by the latter.
With such a strong and concerted effort to strengthen its military forces and fighting capability, it is only a matter of time before China pull out its presence in the South China Sea or risk being attacked by the Philippines. The writing is on the wall and China better take heed and move out. The Philippines is serious and means business and will go to war with China.